Page 2 of Fire Dragon
“Yeah, that would have been the banana’s turd. But isn’t his caravan due in? Won’t he be on call?”
“He shouldn’t be. It’s hard on even the best of the best to go into battle after caravan duty.” Because of the fierce winds of Dusane, the caravans were the main transport around the planet. Powerful dragons, like Liam and Logan, led the caravans and wrapped them in their extraordinary energy to protect them against the ravages of the winds.
“There’s one more thing,” Jane said. “I just heard there’s a wind coming from the northeast.”
Emma’s heart fired off a few quick beats. “Any sign of the Magi yet?” The terrible Magi dragons of the northeast Province of Magiffe were a scourge to the entire Continent of Arranfar. They never ceased battling for control of their world.
“Not yet.”
Emma didn’t know how this could get worse.
Jane looked her up and down then whistled. “Well, despite the front part, this uniform fits you like a glove.
Emma glanced around the small apartment that had been assigned to her. HQ made sure each of its warriors and dragon-riders had a place near the launch area to prepare for battle as needed. She didn’t use the apartment very much since her cave dwelling was just up the tall, lakeside cliff. “I can fix this myself if we’ve got any duct tape laying around.”
“Like hell you’ll do anything of the sort. I’ll get you a half-cape which you can lose the moment you mount. No one will notice your boobs once you’re in the air.”
That much would be true since the dragon was the real show. Even as a rider, and critical to help the dragon see through a sandstorm during battle, the dragon was what everyone watched, including herself.
A voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “Caravan landing in two minutes.”
The words were like magic. Emma’s heartrate shot into the stratosphere. There was nothing like watching a caravan of two-hundred massive dragons coming into port, brought in by one of the magnificent seven or those dragons close to their level of power and expertise. The four-mile long train was a thing of beauty.
She forgot about her exposed state, raced from her apartment, then took off on a dead run to the elevators. Jane was close on her heels. She ignored the stares from chance bystanders.
She supposed it would be all over the building before the sun dropped below the horizon that her rack had been on display. But right now she didn’t care.
A caravan was coming in.
The heavily reinforced glass-and-stone building could withstand winds at two-hundred miles an hour and offered the best view of the dragon caravans as they landed on the mesa above the lake and along the sloped path that led to the ground level of the administrative building. HQ was perched on the southern-most shores of Blue Lake and with fifty floors, towered above the plateau. HQ was a massive complex that served over two-thousand personnel.
The elevator soared and her heart pounded in her ears. She’d been on the planet eighty-three years, yet she never tired of watching the caravans land.
The lead caravan driver made transport across their planet possible since they kept the debilitating winds from doing damage. Liam was one of just a few dozen dragons who could make the long runs and carve the way forward through the continent of Arranfar.
With Jane on her heels, they reached the viewing deck at the top of HQ just in time. She planted her hands on the broad stone wall. As she watched Liam’s sleek black dragon form glide down and down, the next dragon and the next formed a seamless line behind him. That was the gift Liam and dragons like him had, to create a flow of energy that covered miles in his wake and protected the entire fleet.
Each dragon, except for several security units and the lead, was laden with goods. They were arriving from a distant port in the far south, the land of vampires and those dragons and humans who loved them.
Vampires were the largest group of specialty humans but not the only ones. Over the millennia, Dusane had become a gathering place for all kinds of creatures. There were several packs of wolf-shifters living on the northeastern continent of Emvo and a fae contingent on the great continental island of Doshthor. The unique blend of human and any of a variety of preternatural DNA, had also given each species the ability to move from Earth to Dusane though a long-established wormhole with relative ease. Better still, traveling to Earth was always accomplished in real-time. No lost or gained time had ever been reported.
The landing base was several miles long to accommodate the size of the caravan. On the north side of the strip, all kinds of transport, including carts, trucks imported from Earth, even braying donkeys with side baskets, queued up at assigned stations to collect their goods.
Bringing caravans safely through their land of winds was an astonishing achievement every time.
From where she stood, Liam was two hundred feet away. He touched down on the angled portion of the landing field, not far from the lake. Two walls of granite cliff protected him and the first few dragons.
He shook his massive head and roared. She knew why. Before a shift back to human form, he had to be free of as much stress as possible or the change could be painful.
Two attendants crossed in his direction ready to support him. Each carried towels, water, even fruit. The men who led the caravans were put through a tremendous use of energy with each flight. They were revered in Arranfar for their stamina and sheer physical power.
Above all, they kept the economy of the planet flowing by bringing the caravans safely through the winds.
In his dragon form, Liam was incredible with black scales that also showed a glimmer of red iridescence, an indication he was a fire dragon. He had rows of spiked silver horns jutting down the length of his tail and forming a double row along the upper part of his neck and the top of his head.
He roared into the heavens once more and released a spray of fire that spread out toward Blue Lake almost thirty feet into the air. Any boats on the water were well away from the landing area.
The nearby attendants backed up a few more yards.
